Driving back to Denver 24 Jul 2010 8:22 AM (14 years ago)
We got up at 5:00am this morning but we ended up leaving at 6:30am. There's a lot to do before leaving specially with our little Maddie. Well anyway, the trip went well and Maddie did a very good job. We got home at around 11:15pm.
Commodity Futures Tradings 12 May 2010 6:50 PM (14 years ago)
Compared to cash contracts, which require payment against the physical delivery of goods immediately or after a specified period, a futures contract is a special type of agreement made strictly under the rules of a commodity exchange, which may or may not call for the actual delivery of goods and payment in cash on a future date.
According to Emery, a futures contract can be defined as a contract for the future delivery of some commodity without reference to specific lots, made under the rules of some commercial body, in a set form, by which the conditions as to unit of amount, the quality and time of delivery are stereotyped, and only the determination of the total amounts and the price is left open to the contracting parties.
Such contracts are meant exclusively for future settlement, though the exact date of the settlement is decided by reference to the wishes of the seller and the established rules of the commodity exchange. Such contracts do not specify the particular grade of a commodity, but impliedly refer to a basic grade called the contract grade, accepted as the common grade for all futures dealings. The details in respect to the amount, the time of settlement, the quality and so forth are mentioned in the rules and regulations, and are common to all such contracts. The contracting parties have to decide upon the price at which the contract is to be settled, sometime in one of the trading months specified by the exchange.
Futures contracts are made only in the ‘ring’ of the commodity exchanges, and not outside the exchanges. Only members of a commodity exchange can enter into such a deal. No outsider can become a party to a futures agreement. Such contracts can be made only in multiples of a fixed unit of trading. No such contracts can be made in fractions of these units.
Becoming aware of the signs of autism 28 Apr 2010 6:54 AM (14 years ago)
Autism is an ailment that affects the nerves and is generally found to victimize children in their second or third years. However, the signs of autism start to develop much before that and timely detection of these signs can go a long way in improving the quality of life of autistic children. Some of the early indications of autism include inability of a child to talk, babble or even point out things at the age of 1. The inability of the child to respond to his name, inability to make proper eye contact, lack of knowledge about playing with toys, etc are some of the other indications that a child might be autistic.
Health Tips - Life-Extending Formulae 21 Apr 2010 1:26 PM (14 years ago)
More than ten per cent of China’s 1-3 billion people are 60 years or older and the number is forecast to rise to 400 million or a quarter of the total population, by the middle of this century. In ancient Chinese medical kidney refers to a system that health body’s clockwork is thrown out of kilter. A patient, regulates the body’s metabolism. If the sheen functions badly the health body’s clockwork is thrown out of kilter. A patient, regardless of natural age, exhibits symptoms of back ache, hair loss, weakness at the knees and low immunity, common to the elderly. Premature ageist is often found among middle aged patients suffering from chronic illnesses, which could respond to treatment aimed at nurturing the sheen.
My business articles 21 Apr 2010 1:23 PM (14 years ago)
Hello friends. I am currently involved in a business project writing Business Articles so I seldom blog lately. It’s something very new to me so I devote a great deal of my time in building my vocabulary in business so that I'l is able to write my Business Articles well. I have less background in business. The only courses I took back in college which are related to business are economics and basic accounting. I'd probably need to brush up on a few of my books' pages about the terminologies used in those subjects.
I am beginning to really appreciate just how important to have a business of your own no matter how small it seems to be. It adds up to your income and helps you finance some of your caprice and save for your future. Some people don't know what business to put up and how to start. I guess what one needs to check is the kind of skill you have that others don't have, and then start from there.
If people don't have such skill, say how create simple dress accessories, then people will find those who possess it and produce such. When you start giving value to people, that's when the money starts coming in. Good luck.
Calcium 20 Apr 2010 7:31 AM (14 years ago)
One in four men suffers from high blood pressure. Why? Part of the problem may be that we don’t get enough calcium. The Framingham Heart Study, which tracked 432 men for 18 years, found that men who consumed the highest levels of this mineral had a 20 percent of lower risk of developing high blood pressure than men who consumed the lowest levels.
Calcium is also a major building block of bone. If you can’t remember the last time you drank a glass of milk, keep in mind that your bones have to pony up the difference when your body needs to use its store of calcium for other functions such as the maintenance of blood, muscles and nerves. A persistent calcium deficit in your diet will leave bones weak and brittle. That condition, osteoporosis, is not just a women’s problem; One-third of the hip fractures tied to this condition occur in men. The recommended Dietary Allowance of calcium for men is 800 milligrams daily. You’ll get 300 milligrams in a single glass of milk. Other good sources are canned salmon or sardines and many garden greens.
Savings 17 Apr 2010 8:23 AM (14 years ago)
People often complain about the horrible interest that they get at regular brick and mortar bank accounts but they never seem to think about their low balance in their savings account. Regardless of the interest that you earn, you won’t “earn” anything unless you plan to actually have some money in the account. I currently earn 3.25% at FNBO Direct but I have over six thousand dollars in there that let me earn interest. In addition I’m constantly adding money to the account as it comes in, so let this be a lesson to everyone, save. Saving accounts are great, but look for them online and make sure that they are FDIC insured.
Dealing With Higher Taxes in 2010 4 Apr 2010 9:30 AM (14 years ago)
Its a bright Monday morning in Americas capital city. While going about your business, you may be wondering about what 2010 has in store for your money. Well, here are some thoughts:
Local governments are going to raise taxes and fees. Governments at all levels are running large deficits. Typical efforts to close deficit gaps involve some combination of increased taxes or user fees. In particular, the massive size of the Federal deficit indicates your income taxes are likely to increase.
So what does all this mean for you?
A) Pick the right account. If you are at all able to, sock away your money using ROTH 401ks, 401ks or ROTH IRAs. The rules vary, but in tax deferred accounts earnings on your investments tend to grow assessment free. This is especially the case for stocks and bonds, but you can hold gold and real estate in these types of accounts also.
B) Consider municipal bonds. Investors don't have to pay federal taxes on dividends from muni bond funds because these funds invest only in relevant government paper which is exempt from taxation. While the rates these funds pay are typically pretty modest, the after tax returns can look good compared with taxable funds.
As a quick note here - some beginning investors buy muni bonds in their retirement accounts. You don't need to do this because municipal bond interest is tax free already. A broker I know made this mistake. Her client dropped her for it.
C) Keep taxes in perspective. People go to great lengths to avoid taxes. Rich people found philanthropic organizations and ship their money abroad, common people work under the table or under report their income. You are probably pretty honest when it comes your income taxes, but the point here is that you should keep things in perspective. If you are too obsessed with taxes, it can distort how you make decisions.
For example, a lot of people didn't want to sell their tech stocks at the height of the 2001 boom. They didn't want to sell because they didn't want to cough up the 20% tax on their capital gains. When the tech bubble burst, a lot of these folks were left with nothing. The bottom line here is that you shouldn't let taxes distort your investment decision making.
Investing Tips for Landscape Rock 30 Mar 2010 6:52 AM (14 years ago)
Ready to invest a little in your landscape and make it
shine but also look unique? Here’s how! Adding landscape rock to a
current, well-designed landscape can change the complete look and
feel. The addition of rock to a landscape often provides the
finishing touch in separating a good landscape design from a
great landscaping design. The beauty rock offers is with so many
sizes, textures and colors landscapers use rock as a secret tool for
adding and accenting a landscape design.
Rock – All Natural Beauty
Rock being an all-natural product in many different forms; kinds,
sizes, textures and colors, each hold their own unique properties
and characteristics. Rock and or stone can provide impact,
emphasis an area, add character or just create interest to any
landscape.
Large Landscape Rock Tip
A common mistake made by many homeowners when first using a rock
of some size is by simply laying them on the ground and working
the landscape around the rock or boulder. A rock may be heavy
but take some time and thought into placing the rock for the most
impact. Also bury the rock a little to make it look like it has
always been there.
There are so many different ways and design ideas to add rocks
and stone into your landscape plan giving the over all look a
style and beauty all its own. Stone can be used not only as a
walkway but also by staggering rocks you can create the pathway.
Throw in some solar landscape lighting and rocks can create
interesting focal points when the sun goes down.
A pair of boulders sitting at the entrance of a driveway complete
with an address attached makes for a one of a kind driveway or
creating an accent with a single boulder can spice up a
backyard.
Landscape Rock Problems and Solutions
The biggest issue many face with using any type of rock or stone
in the landscape is weight. No matter the size of the rock the
overall weight can make many do it yourself landscaper shy away
from using them. The cost, weight, access to placement, manpower
and machinery all contribute to a fear of taking advantage of the
beauty rocks can give a landscape.
The solution may be turning to using artificial rocks and
boulders instead of using heavy to move natural rock.
Instead of working around the rock already in place, using
artificial rocks allow much easier movement and placement.
Stone in The Landscape
Using rock in the landscape does not mean rocks need to be large
and massive. The use of small stone instead of a ground cover or
pine bark mulch can add style and reduce maintenance of the
landscape. Stop and look around your neighborhood and you can
find many different ways to incorporate rocks and stone into your
landscape for both style and beauty.
Remember, rock also finds its way into the landscape for use in
water gardens and waterscapes, ponds, retaining walls and raised
beds. When installed and cared for properly, adding a good
quality stone proves to be an investment in your property.
More activity 30 Mar 2010 6:51 AM (14 years ago)
Man like all animals at one point of time, was more used to roaming wild in the forest. He was more busy hunting and finding food. There was more activity for him in the outside.His need for a shelter came only when he needed to rest.
Throughout the day, he used to be busy and always on his feet. How ever, things have changed of the last few millennia. Especially in the last one hundred years, man has become very lazy and is more content to sit at one place and work. In fact, technology has reduced the physical work of man and only gives him mental work. This leads the body to go out of shape. Sitting and eating without any activity causes man to become very fat and unhealthy.
We get breathless even if we have to walk just two blocks to work. In order to keep ourselves healthy mentally, we need to be healthy physically. We need some sort of physical activity or hobby that we can pursue in between our busy work. The ideal and enjoyable thing would be jogging. Jogging has a whole lot of advantages. First of all, the best time to jog is early in the morning. Most people get the free time only early in the morning. Hence, Keeping jogging as an activity gives an early start to your day.
Jogging increases the blood flow in your body and releases hormones that make you feel very happy. It ensures that your heart is in top shape and by causing you to breathe heavily, it makes you take in a lot of oxygen Oxygen brightens your spirits and increases the energy in you and removes laziness. Besides, jogging helps you to socialize with people who don’t belong to your regular group. This makes you emotionally less dependant.
Protein Supplements 30 Mar 2010 6:42 AM (14 years ago)
Hi guys, in this post I will talk about food and supplements. Food, food, glorious food. And I have seen whole books and novels on top of paper about the topic of food, that basic condition in life we all appear to necessitate at some summit. And who doesn't like food? As isn't bread the employees of life, or great like that. And the list of recipe and articles written about food, and those colorful closes up photos of persons recipe as well as ads for food, well they seem to be alive never-ending.I just felt that fish protein is smaller in content compared to pork and maybe a natural protein powder, what do you think?
Increase in body weight may result in obesity. Proper diet should be maintained in order to reduce the body weight. If weight loss is going to be a concern then there are several protein supplements that are readily available in the market. Protein supplements are becoming most popularised among those who are conscious about weight loss. Intake of diet with rich protein content increases metabolism in human body which in turn helps in burning out the food calories.
Pleasant music 28 Mar 2010 10:34 AM (14 years ago)
Music is something that is born out of thin air. It is indeed a blessing that we have the sense of hearing. Nothing can liven p our spirits like music. Half the movies wont have the same effect on you had it not been for the back ground music.
Listening to your favorite tunes in your I pod makes time just fly by and a hard long jog gets over in jiffy. Music indeed has the power to heal. Music increases the adrenalin in your body and also increases the happy hormone and makes you feel much more hopeful.
Music gives you the same effect as drugs, only this is positive, real and without poisoning your body. It has been found that creativity in people occurs due to certain brain waves. These brain waves can be recorded using EEG.
It has been found that certain music can trigger these same brain waves and hence enhance your creativity and happiness. Music amplifies your moods, be it a happy mood or a sad mood or an excited mood.
Music is the soul of our life and life will be much better if we have music as a hobby. Hope and positive attitude is something that everyone needs in bucketfuls and music can deliver that in truckloads.
Light source 28 Mar 2010 10:33 AM (14 years ago)
Our eyes are one of the most exotic senses. It gives us the best feedback among all other senses. Life would be much easier to face with our eyes rather than without. Hence it is important that we don’t take our eyes for granted.
There are a lot of things that could happen to your eyes. Hence you need to take good preventive action against them. Always be careful when venturing out in the hot sun.
Wear a sun hat or even better, couple it with sun glasses that filter the UV and infra red rays. The problems that come with direct exposure to sunlight include the damage caused to the rods and cons of the eyes which enable us to view objects.
This is the reason why after looking at powerful light sources, we feel temporarily blinded at patches. Constant exposure can cause so much damage to your rods and cons that it can cause temporary or partial blindness.
When using your fingers on your eyes, ensure that you first wash your face and hands with soap and make sure that soap doesn’t go into your eyes. Any small bacteria can easily develop into a bigger problem as the moist layer on your eye is ideally suited for bacteria to multiply.
Auto insurance 28 Mar 2010 10:17 AM (14 years ago)
Hi guys, to find the best quotes, get online and get quotes from a variety of companies. However, before you do that, take the time to find out some of the different things that affect rates. There are a lot of different things to take into account when looking for cheap auto insurance quotes. Each insurance company has their own method of figuring out how they do their premiums.
The person responsible for this is the underwriter. This individual will gather all of the information and then use their companies method to figure out the premium to be charged. The factors that go into this can vary, so it is best to get quotes from many different companies.
First, it is important to understand that law almost universally requires car insurance. However, it is not a federal law. This means that each state will have a different set of criteria for what it takes to be legal. Which of course means that each state’s laws will have a different affect on how underwriters establish premiums and coverage groups.
Some charges may even vary with the same insurance company when going state to state. This is not to suggest that someone just up and move to get a better rate. It is more for those that are getting ready to move so that they are prepared to possibly pay more or even get a small price break at their new location.
Are You Sure You Want to Invest In Real Estate? 26 Mar 2010 8:09 AM (14 years ago)
Since we've been in the process of buying an investment property, it occurs to me that not everyone realizes the difference between getting an investment and buying a home for yourself. Also, sometimes it seems like new real estate investors often fail to appreciate the complexities and hassles involved in owning property.
In a nutshell, owning investment real estate means running a small business. There are several dynamics that are found in owning investment real estate that aren't when you have a place of your own. For example:
1) Investors tend to buy properties that are smaller, and have fewer amenities. So, when you are going shopping for investments you aren't buying the same sort of places as you would for yourself.
2) Investors often get places in neighborhoods that aren't as nice. The reason for this is the more money investors put into their properties, the less profit they make. Neighborhoods that are downscale tend to have lower prices, which means lower overall costs.
3) For investors there is much more focus on expenses. Typically rents have to cover ALL expenses plus 5%. This includes mortgage, taxes, insurance, advertising, repairs, utilities, maintenance, etc. etc. Changes in rental property rates can make this hard to do. On the other hand, there are fewer costs associated with having a primary residence.
4) Temperament. Being a landlord requires having a thick skin. You need to be able to deal with rejection as well as be able to reject people yourself. For example, you'll need to show your property and deal with people not wanting to rent from you. Also you'll need to be able to reject people. This means you may have to perform an eviction or tell people they can't rent your place. In both cases, normal standards of social decorum really don't apply. Instead, you'll have to develop a capacity to handle conflict.
5) Being a landlord means holding large cash reserves. If you have rental property, usually you'll want to hold some cash to cover periods when the property isn't rented or in case you need repairs. The more property you have, the more you'll need to hold in reserves. This is a problem as the yield on cash and equivalents is currently ridiculously low. Thus, you could be stuck with a large amount of cash mandated to an underperforming asset category if you get into investing in real estate.
6) Having rental real estate adds more complexity to your life. Unlike owning a home, you'll need to develop a set of basic managerial skills, you'll need to monitor rental markets and learn basic household maintenance. You wouldn't have to do as much of this when buying real estate to live in.
Of course, most of these points are more geared towards landlords, but other types of real estate investing strategies carry their own risks as well.
Lens 26 Mar 2010 8:05 AM (14 years ago)
Hello Folks. A lens is something that has already helped many people with their eyesight. Millions of people in the world wear eyeglasses. You probably have somebody in your family who wears eyeglasses as well. Maybe even you wear them and they help you every day while reading a newspaper, watching TV or playing computer games. A single lens is a device used to transmit and refract light. Many people do not know exactly how lenses work, but it is not important. The important thing is that if you want to improve your eyesight, you can get a pair of eyeglasses and the job is done. All, even the cheapest eyeglasses can do the job the right way. Eyeglasses do not necessarily have to be expensive to work for you.
I know that some people think that way, but it does not have to be true. There is absolutely no difference between designer eyeglasses and eyeglasses you can buy for a few dollars. If you would like to check whether there is a difference or not, I suggest that you experiment with different types of eyeglasses to see if there is any difference between them. You are very likely to find out that there is no difference at all.
Learn Make-up 25 Mar 2010 6:42 AM (14 years ago)
I seldom make up. But this is needed when comes to special occasion. I have not much knowledge about make up. Since I prefer every thing simple and easy, I choose to learn it online. :p
Here is the video teaching how to apply three shape eyes shadow. I know these simple steps of eye shadow make up will only be beautiful if I manage to apply it well on my eyes. But this seems like really easy to follow. I got to go to practice it later.
Designing AI Based on Humans 25 Mar 2010 6:41 AM (14 years ago)
There has been a big progress in developing Artificial Intelligence, but one of the fundamental questions that we should ask ourselves is whether we want to design AI based on humans. There are a lot of sci-fi movies that depict machines to be almost on equal terms as humans. Is this what we want? Artificial Intelligence should be designed from scratch to serve humans, as what would be the purpose to create AI with free will? We want machines to help us in our tasks, but we do not want to create a whole new race of beings. I think that many scientists who work on AI might try too hard to design it based on humans. Like I said, the reason why we would want intelligent machines is to help us with our tasks, not replace us. Of course, if we want to be realistic, we have to admit that AI with free will sounds a bit far-fetched. Possibly, machines could try to imitate free will, but they will never actually possess it. That being said, I do not even see the reason to create machines that would be imitating free will, so that is something that we as a society should think about. We should focus our efforts on creating AI that will be able to help us with many tasks that usually require humans.
Email hosting 25 Mar 2010 6:39 AM (14 years ago)
Hey guys, using a mail service for your personal purpose is completely different from using mail for your business purposes. The free email hosting is available for all users and it is not unique as premium email hosting. If you hold a business organization and you are in need of uniqueness from free email hosting, then you should go for professional email services available through many web hosting providers.
The main advantage is to have your own email services in your company name that helps you to deliver a higher grade of professional care and service. Some of the best hosting services helps you to hold own email hosting through premium level services. The dedicated hosting services are the only option for owning your website and email with privacy.
Several webhosting services are providing these services, but only few of them are economic and providing mindful services. The top rated web hosting services are available for your need and it will help you hold a space in the server with extreme convenience. To know more about email hosting services peep over the search engine and get your needs fulfilled. These are all some of the information regarding web hosting services for premium email hosting.
Absent Without Leave 20 Mar 2010 6:54 AM (15 years ago)
Friday afternoon grocery shopping just outside the main gate of the air force base: I stopped to look at a product. An very tall, very wide airman dressed in fatigues said, “Excuse me.” I took a step to the left. He grabbed something from the shelf, dropped it in the cart and pushed it away. Only problem is, it was my cart — and my purse was in it.
“Hey! That’s my cart!” I said, hustling after the fellow. He turned into the dairy isle. I was forced to give way for an elderly shopper who took far too long walking around the gigantic airman and the shopping cart. The airman added milk to the cart and moved to the eggs. I caught up to him. “Wait!” I said.
He added eggs to my cart as I grabbed the side of the basket. He looked at me in stern disapproval and then glanced down at my hand — which was lifting my purse from the cart. I smiled and quipped, “It really doesn’t match your outfit.” The airman responded, “Ulp.”
Still smiling I looked way up, up, up at him and said, “I was afraid for a minute I was going to have to tackle your ankle.” His face flushed bright red. He turned on the heel of his spit-shined boot and stalked away.
Poor man. If he’s going to wander around in public while his brain is absent without leave, he really should grow a sense of humor.
Katelynn out. 12 Mar 2010 6:11 AM (15 years ago)
I should have known….I thought she would have lasted at least another week. She’s pretty and young and I thought that some of the teenage girls who watch this show would have called in to vote for her.
Plus, her performance wasn’t *bad* - just boring.
Hands-on science 8 Mar 2010 7:23 AM (15 years ago)
I hated studying science in school. It was always text-book type of study - read the book, do the test. Now, more and more teachers are turning to hands-on experiences in teaching science. What better way for students to learn about ecosystems than to get outside and study them? I would have loved science if it involved going to a pond, collecting samples, and bringing them back to study under the microscope.
How You Can Raise Awareness 7 Mar 2010 8:09 AM (15 years ago)
I have heard that many bosses around the office will not participate in a recycling program. Unless your boss is an even bigger jerk than previously thought, they should not have a problem with you starting your own recycling initiative. You can put up signs around the office to start recycling paper, and you can just put a box right there by the trash cans. I am sure a lot of people will be glad that you did this, and they will start to throw their papers in there. You could start a small group of people to help you drop off the paper at a center so all of the weight is not on your shoulders. Small measures like this can actually show the boss that you have initiative to do things and it can help you get recognized, and it will help the environment, and even possibly your popularity around the office!
Flying A Kite 6 Mar 2010 2:40 PM (15 years ago)
So it was just so windy this weekend that I just could not resist taking my oldest outside to fly a kite! It was very cold but we just bundled up. Here is the thing … if you have a kite that gets torn then you can just use transparent tape or plastic wrap - it temporarily with fix that kite for the afternoon or that time that you want to use it before you go out and buy another on.
It is a great way to spend that quality time with your kids I think…So go and fly a kite!!
Freeze Your Washclothes 6 Mar 2010 2:39 PM (15 years ago)
Here is a great tip for you…freeze your washclothes so that when you need a cold cloth you do not have to wrap ice in something…that just leaves such a mess if you ask me. I always do this and I wend up with a puddle on my pillow if it is for my headaches. This way you have that frozen and very cold washcloth for your headache, burn or even tooth aches and pains that you may be having.